Chapter 19 · He Bought Her Hands

Julian's staring at the receipt like it might catch fire if he looks long enough.

Mara's hand doesn't shake. The paper crinkles between her fingers. Four years old. The ink's faded but the date's clear as anything. The day Elias walked out and never came back.

"You paid someone," she says. Her voice comes out flat. "To follow me."

Julian doesn't move. His coat's torn at the shoulder. Blood's dried dark along his collar. The shared pulse between them beats twice, hard, like it's trying to kick through her ribs.

"Yeah," he says.

That's it. Just yeah.

Something cold slides down Mara's spine. She takes a step forward. Julian takes one back. His shoulders hit the alley wall.

"Why?"

"Because I needed to know where you were."

"Why?"

His jaw works. He's not looking at her now. He's looking past her shoulder, at the smoke still rising from the square. The sun's up. The sky's that sick orange color it gets after a fire. Somewhere a dog's barking. Somewhere glass is breaking. The city sounds like it's tearing itself apart one street at a time.

"Because Elias made a deal," Julian says. "And you were part of it.